Nigeria and four other countries listed as main spreaders of Coronavirus in Africa

According to the Director-General of West African Health Organisation Prof. Stanley Okolo, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Guinea are responsible for 80 % of COVID19 cases in West Africa.

Prof. Okolo, during a presentation to Parliament, made this disclosure, stated that as of July 16, the aforementioned countries have recorded 84,118 cases out of the 96,936 cases in the region.

He added that the case fatality rate for the region was currently at a median of about 2.16 percent and an average of 1.6 percent, adding that if the number of active cases was to be considered, then Guinea Bissau with over 1,000 active cases would be added to the list of highest contributors.

He said “five countries contributed almost 80 percent of the COVID-19 cases in the region, namely: Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal and Guinea. “What is important is to note the case fatality rate: how many people died because of COVID-19.

“But the range of people dying after COVID-19 diagnosis is about 0.57 percent in Ghana to about six percent in Niger.

“If you look at our active cases, it is common where we have a higher population density. “We are not able to get all the figures from some districts in Mali and Niger due to insecurity.”

‘Young people are affected most’ He re-echoed the disclaimer about the peculiarity or not of COVID-19 among certain age groups, sexes or class. He, however, noted that the younger people accounted for more of the cases, adding that the age-group contributed to the highest number of those who are nonchalant about precautions. He explained that “COVID-19 does not respect age or sex.

“Yes, diagnosis is common in men than women, but when you look at the age distribution, you will find that from the youngest to the oldest, COVID-19 tends to cut across all ages but commonest in the young age group.

Nwada Ugochinyere Onyechere reporting, Obinwannem News